Voices and Strings

Today, at the Arvada United Methodist Church, the Arvada Chorale performed With A Voice of Singers. This was the second time I listened to the marvelous singing directed by Marla Wasson. The first Chorale happened to be a Christmas show with lots of peppy numbers. Today, it was quite different; poetry set to music. The poems were on screens so the audience could follow the words
while the singers made the words come to life. I liked The Raccoon, Hawks, and The Squirrel written by Rosalind May. This Marriage and Prayer of St. Francis were beautiful and the comical one was an Ode to a Sleepless Parent. I believe what amazed me the most was how the harmonizing, the soft then loud, and the high and the low voices become beautiful music that sometimes sound like instruments!

Chamber music is not my favorite, yet the four musicians were impressive. Two violins, one viola and one cello made me feel sad, happy and at times joyful. The program listed the players as Artur Korotin, Violin 1; Simone Hammett-Lynch, Violin II; Barbara Hamilton, Viola; and Jeffrey Watson, Cello. I learned some Russian history about how musicians had to play or write only music that was approved by the government. Dimitri Shostakovich, a composer and pianist, hated what had become of his country but did not leave for fear his family might suffer. He wrote "lively music that would lift the people up," and in secret he wrote what his heart felt like writing.





After the concert we ate at Santiago's Mexican Restaurant and felt content. Beautiful music and good food completed our Saturday  afternoon!